


Independence Day in June

by merry_amelie



Series: Academic Arcadia [200]
Category: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Genre: Alternate Reality, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-16
Updated: 2013-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-10 15:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4397081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merry_amelie/pseuds/merry_amelie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just as they did with Halloween, our lads celebrate Independence Day early this year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Independence Day in June

**Author's Note:**

  * For [katbear](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katbear/gifts).



> Feedback: Is treasured at merryamelie@aol.com (or leave a comment).
> 
> Disclaimer: Mr. Lucas owns everything Star Wars. I'm not making any money.
> 
> For  
> My beta team: Nerowill, Emila-Wan, and Carol  
> Mali Wane for posting  
> My former betas: Alex, Ula, and Padawan Sue
> 
> References:  
> [Defense of Marriage Act](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_of_Marriage_Act)  
> [California Proposition 8](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8)
> 
> Fourth of July in Arcadia:  
> 2004 -- [Independence Day: Let Freedom Ring](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1798048)  
> 2005 -- [Declaration of Independence](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1819468)  
> 2006 -- [Meditations on Freedom](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1907862)  
> 2007 -- [An Arcadian Picnic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1953027)  
> 2008 -- [A Dazzling Display](http://www.masterapprentice.org/archive/1/127dazzlingdisplay.html)  
> 2009 -- [Fourth and Maine](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4260111)  
> 2010 -- [Two Hundred and Counting](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4312143)  
> 2011 -- [Independence Day at Lake Saasta](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4366031)  
> 2012 -- [Wool-gathering in Stratford](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4388408)  
>   
> Related Arcadias:  
>   
> [Christmas in Williamsburg (Revised)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4276173)  
> [Equality in Arcadia](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4366022)  
> [Thanksgiving Reverie](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4397039)  
> [Marry Her, Quinn](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4168896)

"Pinch me, Quinn!"  
  
Sandy barked, as if he itched to punctuate Ian's command, obviously the pet of two English professors, while Artoo ran around the living room with his tail at full wag.  
  
Quinn gave a rich chuckle. "I'd be glad to, laddie," and suited the action to the word. He pinched the delectable skin of Ian's arm --just under the edge of the sleeve of his Skyhawks t-shirt -- a fur-soft delight beneath his fingertips.  
  
It was 10:10 on a glorious Wednesday morning in late June, and they sat side by side on their sofa recliner, feeling happier and happier. Their local news channel was on overdrive today. They had cleared their Luke schedule until the afternoon, so they could be in their own "little bit o' heaven" on this momentous occasion. The Supreme Court had just announced two decisions of Supreme importance to them.  
  
The third section of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, had been repealed after 17 years. This section had defined marriage as only between a man and a woman in the United States of America. Today, the court had ruled it unconstitutional.  
  
The passage of Proposition 8, a 2008 California initiative, had removed the right to marry of same-sex couples in the state. Today, the court had ruled that the proponents of Prop 8 had no standing, since marriage equality did them no harm, so gay marriages were free to resume in the state.  
  
The twin rulings had left twin smiles on their faces.  
  
It reminded Ian of his overwhelming joy when the New York State Senate had passed marriage equality in 2011, leading to their wedding at Luke Chapel. That had been one of the best days of his life, especially when Quinn had accepted his proposal almost before he had gotten the words out of his mouth.  
  
"I'm just so relieved," sighed Ian, leaning his head against Quinn's broad shoulder. "Feels like the pressure cooker's finally been turned off."  
  
Quinn gave out a complementary sigh, in pleasure at having his husband so close that his breath ruffled Ian's hair. "I know, lad. These last few weeks of waiting have been rough."  
  
Ian nodded. "Not to mention the years it's taken for these cases to be resolved."  
  
"I was only twenty-five when DOMA was passed," said Quinn softly. "It was shortly after I'd earned my doctorate, and I remember thinking I would be a confirmed bachelor for the rest of my life."  
  
Ian petted Quinn's stomach. "I can only imagine your parents' reaction."  
  
Quinn chuckled darkly. "They'd already been trying to get me to go out with any girl within a 20-mile radius. My mom would encourage her friends to bring their daughters over to visit when I was on Spring Break or summer vacation, and it felt like I was the only guy within those twenty miles."  
  
Ian whistled. "Talk about a captive audience."  
  
"It was really something, lad. They were all over me." Quinn smiled ruefully. "The pressure for me to get married was immense from every direction. Even my thesis advisor harangued me about it, implying it would help my academic career to have a 'little lady' by my side at faculty parties."  
  
"Oh, man, that must've been tough." Ian gentled his petting. "That's why DOMA was such a disaster -- it just confirmed all their prejudices against any other way of life."  
  
"Exactly, laddie," Quinn said. "And you were just a teenager when DOMA was passed. It must have been even tougher on you."  
  
"It wasn't a picnic," said Ian ruefully. "I was "just seventeen," as the song goes. We're talking half of my life here!" He snorted in amazement. "I can hardly believe it's been that long. I might have started dating boys if it had been a better world back then."  
  
The blue flare in Quinn's eyes warmed Ian's heart. "Just as well you didn't, laddie mine."  
  
"Mmmm, now that's a flattering reaction after 10 years together," Ian murmured, tilting his face up for a kiss, which Quinn promptly gave him.  
  
"That'll be my reaction after 50 years together, laddie mine," Quinn rumbled playfully, then kissed him again.  
  
"Y'know, when Monty was seventeen, he had a different girlfriend every month," said Ian, never able to resist teasing Quinn.  
  
"Ah, laddie, you can joke about it, but it isn't funny," Quinn said earnestly. "You should have had the chance to have a 'boyfriend of the month', as well, my childish jealousy aside."  
  
"Both of us should've had that chance," Ian said somberly.  
  
Quinn's nose brushed his herven's forehead. "At least now, after these rulings, the next generation of gay children will grow up knowing that love and marriage are possibilities for them, the same as everyone else."  
  
Ian's eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "Thank goodness they'll know that equality is their birthright."  
  
Quinn nuzzled Ian's tousled hair. "We've always known that deep inside, no matter what anyone else tried to tell us. It's about time the Supreme Court has caught up with us."  
  
"I'm lucky to have a maverick for a husband." Ian nestled closer into Quinn's side. "Even in 2003, during our Christmas in Williamsburg, you were ahead of the game. When you asked me if I'd wear your ring on a chain back then, I knew you were really asking me to marry you."  
  
"Fortunately, you know how to translate Quinn-speech as easily as Sindarin." Quinn smiled at him.  
  
"I've always thought of our Williamsburg vows as our first wedding ceremony," said Ian dreamily.  
  
Quinn said, "So have I, mo fearcheile." ('my husband' in Irish)  
  
A vision of the Williamsburg garden where they'd exchanged rings for the first time seemed to shimmer in the air around them, a holograph worthy of Star Wars.  
  
Ian's smile could have melted the permafrost on Hoth and then grew even wider when Quinn joined in.  
  
"We've got ourselves a mighty fine wedding present this year, laddie mine," Quinn said, happiness ringing in his words.  
  
"Present *and* future," Ian teased.  
  
Luckily, Quinn had already gotten all of his groans out that morning in bed. "It wouldn't be a proper celebration without one of your puns, lad." He brushed his thumb lingeringly over Ian's lips, relishing the lick he got from his mischievous herven in response.  
  
"It feels like Independence Day already," mused Ian.  
  
Quinn said, "That's because it is -- for us." He beamed at him and moved his thumb to rub over the nape of Ian's neck instead, so he had the room to kiss his laddie's smile. Their tender passion wove its magic around them, as they forgot all about the television and its glad tidings.  
  
They kissed and kissed as if they could keep on going until the Fourth of July itself. Finally, Quinn came up for air and said with satisfaction, as well as a bit of breathlessness, "Today also happens to be the anniversary of Lawrence versus Texas."  
  
This was the Supreme Court decision that decriminalized sodomy in the United States in 2003, written by Anthony Kennedy, the same Justice who wrote today's majority opinion on DOMA.  
  
"Somehow I have a feeling that when the court reached its verdict, they might have chosen to announce it on this important anniversary," Ian said.  
  
Ten years had passed between the landmark rulings. Ten years had passed since Quinn and Ian had met. It had been an arcadian decade, indeed.


End file.
